Three Years Across
by Arianwen Lupin
Summary: This is a love triangle between Cho, Harry and Ginny, but it's got a bit of a twist in it. For one thing Cho becomes a Death Eater and kicks a bit of Harry ass. If you r/r I'd be eternally grateful!
1. Looking Back

I feel that I should explain that you will probably think many of the characters are OOC. However, I hope you find the plot believable. I've read a lot of fanfics about Harry and Ginny being wonderfully in love, but (although I'm really not saying anything against those stories- they were wonderful!) I thought I'd write something of a love triangle between Harry, Ginny and Cho. And I've tried to make the reader feel empathy for Cho this time. She always seems to get the raw end of the deal!  
Hope you like it...  
  
THREE YEARS ACROSS.  
  
Chapter one: Looking Back  
  
She later wondered why she had done it. Jealousy? Love? Lust? No one could ever be sure. But now it was done. And probably...hopefully...for the best. She had never been even remotely interested in him before. Then he had made the move. And she had fallen straight into his arms. Cho lay on the cold hard bed in her master's house. Her new master...Voldemort. She would be his servant, and he would be her protector. He would give her love and caring in a different way to Harry. A totally different way. The truth was, she had used to be really good friends with Ginny Weasley. And just when everyone was saying that Harry was in love with Cho, he went for Ginny. That was when their relationship started to break. Cho was certain that Ginny had done it because she was jealous of Cho. Everyone knew that Ginny fancied Harry- would do anything for him.  
They had seemed so good together for the first few months. Then it became clear that Harry wasn't really...well...cut from boyfriend material. He kept looking over Ginny's shoulder. Then they split. And that was when all the problems had started. Almost immediately he had fallen for Cho again. But she had been warned this time. Everyone said it- he says these things Cho, but he doesn't mean them. He'll dump you as soon as he gets you.' And she'd believed them. She trusted her friends, after all. And it didn't really matter that she'd said yes to going to the Christmas Ball with him. Of course it didn't. After Cedric nothing really mattered anymore. And it wasn't as if it would lead anywhere. But it had, hadn't it. She mentally kicked herself for being such a fool. She must have had feelings for him even then, and she'd hidden them from herself even. Oh GOD. She turned over and pummelled her pillow. How could she have been so stupid. It had led somewhere...somewhere in a dormitory. Too far. And there she had fallen head over heels for him. Against all her better judgement and principles. Bugger. Then he had asked her out. Twice in fact. And she had said no both times, because she had realised what a mistake she had made. But had she made a mistake? She had then asked herself. Perhaps it was meant to be. Perhaps that's what Cedric would have wanted me to do. Cedric had always rated Harry, after all. But it was too late by then. All Harry's nice words- wasted. Just as she was about to give in...to go out with this charming person, he had slept with Ginny again. She had known, of course, that Ginny had never really got over Harry, but she had never dreamt, after all the sweet nothings he'd whispered in her ear, that he would even look at Ginny again.  
And so Cho had been hurt more than she could ever have imagined possible. She had held her head high- of course she had. She had congratulated them both. She had even managed to smile down their sniggers. But it had nearly killed her heart. In fact she would say that it had killed her heart, or she wouldn't be here now, would she? It hadn't only been to do with love. She wasn't that pathetic, thank god! No- recently her friends had been avoiding her. She couldn't understand why, until she overheard one of them: "God does she think everyone fancies her." So that was it. Jealousy. She had heard that other pretty people in different houses were having similar problems, but at that moment it felt as if she was completely alone. It was the middle of term and she didn't feel that she could confide her total desperation to her parents. How could she tell them that she'd fallen in love with an irresponsible hormone driven teenager a year younger than herself, who had...not 'used' her as such...but certainly hurt her more than any other had done. She laughed: how could she tell them that the famous, the oh-so-good Harry Potter, 'Voldemort's bane', had treated her like this. He had used her to get back at Ginny, then he had used Ginny to get back at her. How ironic.  
Well now she would have her revenge. Ever since she'd left her old friends and begun to hang out with the 'wrong crowd', as her Dad would put it. A bunch of Slytherins from her year and the year above had befriended her. They had been supportive at least. They had comforted her- told her exactly what a jerk that stuck up Potter was. And they had offered her power and protection. Except that this protection would be to lock away her all-too-soft heart. And in return, she would serve the darkest wizard of all time. She would serve him and have her revenge on Harry eventually. Voldemort alone could teach her strength, and she was a fast learner.  



	2. Martial Witchcraft

The door to Cho's room opened and a cloaked Death Eater entered. Voldemort didn't trust her enough to show her his other servants yet.  
"This way," The Death Eater said in a husky voice, and motioned through the door.  
She rose and left the room, the cloaked figure following closely behind. He led her to a large chamber. The walls were stone, and the room was empty, apart from a chair at one end, in which sat her new master. He beckoned to her, and she approached him cautiously, her knees beginning to shake under his gaze.  
"So," he said softly, in that famously feared high voice, "Another young follower. You know what is required of you, to follow me?"  
She nodded mutely.  
"Very well."  
He signalled to the same Death Eater, who came forward out of the shadows clutching an ebony wand. He grabbed her arm and pushed the sleeve of her robe up to bare the soft skin on her forearm. Then he touched the wand to her skin, and she screamed as she felt an unbearable searing pain pass thorugh it. He let go, his job complete. Where there had once been pale, unblemished skin, there was now an ugly skeletal head, with a snake coming from the mouth. The dark mark. Through her tears she looked down and stared at it, then stroked her arm sadly, mourning for her lost innocence.  
"You will get used to it in time," said Voldemort, who had been silently watching al this time, "Now, however, it is time for your training."  
"Training?" She blinked.  
"Follow me." Came a voice from behind her. The Death Eater had uncovered his face, showing his identity to be Lucius Malfoy. She immediately understood. Now she was one of them, and she could not deny it- she had the burn mark on her arm. If she betrayed them, then she would be betraying herself. There was no turning back now. Cho followed him out of the hall, and into a smaller, totally bare chamber. There was one other in the room. A man she had never met before. He had long greasy hair in a pony tail, but a straight back, and he was tall and imposing. Then she knew what her 'training' would be like. Hard.  
In the next few hours this man, who seemed to have no name, taught her aerobics. He even seemed mildly impressed at her flexibility, which she had gained from her many years on the Quidditch team. At last, having somersaulted twice in a row, cartwheeled the width of the room, and finally destroyed a target with a twitch of her wand, he told her she could rest. She doubled over, sweat pouring from her forehead and her legs screaming from tiredness. She could hardly hear her trainer's words through the awful throbbing in her head.  
"This may seem hard for you" He was saying sternly, pacing from side to side in front of her, "But you will learn to love the chase and the pursuit. You will learn to love serving your master. You may think that you have made a good impression. You are no better than others your age, despite your Quidditch training. However, we can make you one of the best. I see that you will serve our master well. Now you will fight others of your age."  
She looked up at where he was pointing, and gasped. Through the open door marched nine people no older than she was- five male, four female. Her mouth dropped as she recognised most of them- The girls she had seen around Hogwarts, but didn't know them by name, Draco Malfoy, his two followers Crabbe and Goyle, a boy she had never seen before, and... Seamus Finnigan? He grinned at her, "Never expected to see me here did you, Cho? Pleased you've joined us."  
She nodded at him, open mouthed. "These will be your team mates," continued the trainer, "You will all be required to work together in your tasks. You will now be fighting Avery's group. I will be severly disappointed if we lose to them again."  
There was a groan around the group. Seamus ambled over to Cho and started to explain to her- "Our master likes to build our strength by setting us in groups and putting us up against each other. We've been only a group of nine for the past few months, so you're coming should make all the difference. Our trainer- Master Lestrange- he's very competitive. We're better than most of the other groups, I mean, Wormtail's one is just a laughing stock, but Avery's is very difficult to win against."  
He gestured towards the ten adolescents now approaching. They were all much taller and looked stronger than any of Cho's team. Marcus Flint grinned at Draco from over the heads of his team members. Draco smirked back at him. Cho looked around her and realised that she had never felt so utterly alone, not even when she had been told about Harry and Ginny getting back together. But there was no going back now. What had Cedric always told her? Make a decision and run with it. Never look back in short. She wasn't going to betray him now. Briefly she realised that she was doing just that by joining forces with his murderer. No looking back. No. Don't think of that. Then she was fighting Avery's team. The adrenalin rush was so sudden she hardly noticed it.  
"Impedimenta!" She shouted over the roar that was the fight. Marcus Flint was stopped in his tracks. She spinned round and kicked another looming boy rather higher than she meant to. He staggered back and didn't rejoin the fight for a good long while. But all too soon it was over, and they feel back, the two masters counting injuries and casualties. Crabbe was lying crumpled on the floor wimpering. Cho flushed red as she realised that was what her kick had done. She had attacked her own team member by accident. She tried to remain passive and pretend it hadn't been her. When she looked up again Avery was shaking hands with Master Lestrange. They walked back to their teams and the team cheered as Lestrange told them that they had won by one point. As the adrenalin pumped through Cho's body again, she realised that this was the beginning...  
  
So what do you think of it? Please review it and tell me what you think should happen next! I have a small idea of some of the plot in the chapters to come, but the climatic fight is quite a long way away yet.  
Thanks for reading this far!  
Arianwen 


	3. Irish, Welsh and Venicians

I'm going to introduce quite a few characters into this chapter. Sorry if it gets confusing, but I needed to add them somehow and this was the logical place to do it. Please review this story because I need feedback- I really appreciate the few of you that have reviewed it so far- you've been really encouraging! *Big hugs*  
  
"Alright, you are all free to go now. Someone please escort Miss Chang to her common room." Lestrange shouted above the cheering.  
Seamus and Draco appeared on either side of her. "This way please," bowed Seamus, and opened the door for her.  
As they walked down the long damp corridors of Voldemort's palace, Cho suddenly asked, "So, Seamus, what made you join?"  
"What made you join?" he asked her.  
"You know that already."  
"Ditto, then." She stared at him.  
"Potter's just getting above himself. Everyone adores him for being the one who 'killed' the 'Dark lord', but have things really got any better since then? We have a corrupted Ministry of Magic, which is really no better than Voldemort." Seamus stopped suddenly and faced Cho, his face screwed up in anger, "Do you have any idea what it's like living in a family where one of your parents supports the Ministry, and the other supports Voldemort? Do you? Do you have any idea what it is like having to betray one of your parents? To make a choice like that? Well...I made my choice."  
And so have I, thought Cho, but my reasons were selfish. This guy was forced to. Well I suppose we're all fools for love, one way or another.  
They reached their common room, and stepped inside. Draco looked back at her, "We don't have passwords to our common rooms. We have nothing to hide from each other. We're all on the same side, after all."  
Cho followed him into the room. This wasn't like the others. It was smaller, more homely. It had clearly been decorated by the inhabitants. There were many different tastes there, but they all seemed to mix perfectly with each other. They all had the same feeling- of people who have nowhere else to go.  
Several people stood up to greet Cho. Most of them she recognised from Hogwarts, but some were unfamiliar.  
One of them approached her and smiled warmly. She had short blonde hair which looked as though it had been dyed far too many times to be good for it, she was tall and slim, and had the air about her of being one who got what she wanted. "Isabel Sirius, from Durmstrang. You can call me Diz- the others do."  
"Sirius? You're not a relative of..."  
"No, not Sirius Black!" She laughed harshly, "He's a good guy- I wouldn't be related to a good guy."  
Cho looked bewildered, "Sirius Black...good...but..."  
Draco raised his eyes to the high ceiling, then led her to one side, "I'll explain," he said over his shoulders to the others.  
As they walked away Diz approached Seamus, both of them watching Cho shrewdly.  
"She's not a stayer is she?" Asked Diz.  
"Oh no, but she's an excellent witch. We'll have our use out of her before she returns to the Muggle lovers. She owes Potter a heartache. That'll be when we get to him."  
Isabel looked sideways at Seamus, then laughed again. "You scheme too much Finnigan," she said.  
"You laugh too much Sirius," he retorted.  
  
When Draco and Cho re-joined them they led her round the Common room, introducing her to everyone. Only two others stuck in Cho's mind though- she knew she would never remember all those names. One dark haired girl- Luisa Favariego (from Venice in Italy, naturally)- looked up suspiciously when Draco said Cho's name. "You are from Hogwarts, ya?"  
"Yes" replied Cho, surprised.  
"I am from Beauxbatons. I saw you at the Triwizard Tournament. You were with the boy who died."  
"Yes," said Cho coldly. She felt tears welling up behind her eyes. She desperately tried to stop herself from crying- she couldn't- not in front of all these people. She looked up desperately at Seamus.  
"You're going to have to get used to locking away that heart of yours Chang," he smirked at her, "Don't come running to us for pity, or we might think you have a little too much love in you."  
"Yes," interjected Luisa, her accent lingering on the 's', "Too much love for people and Muggles like that fool Dumbledore."  
Cho felt their menace, "No," she said, "I'm fine. It's just all a little strange to me at the moment. I'll be better, honestly." Christ if she couldn't make a good impression here where did she have to go?  
"It's OK. We understand really" Came a voice from the crowd. She spun round to see a brown haired boy, medium height, with ice blue eyes, pushing his way through his friends, who all obviously had immense respect for him. "Hi," he said, shaking her hand enthusiastically, "I'm Gwynn. I'm from Caerphilly." There was a pause after this statement, during which Cho felt obliged to say something. Breifly she remembered something Cedric had told her about his one trip to Wales, "All a load of sheep shaggers," he had said. Maybe she shouldn't repeat that. "Nice to meet you" she managed, "Wales is very...nice...I've heard."  
Gwynn beamed at her. There was another awkward silence. Gwynn smiled hopefully round the group of onlookers.  
"We didn't mean to scare you," interjected Diz, "We're all from the same backgrounds you see. And we're a tight knit group of friends. It's hard for us to accept new comers. We have to be certain you're not a spy- come to break up our friendships."  
Cho smiled, vaguely hoping that she wasn't smiling in a spy-like manner. Luisa got up and shook hands with her, and immediately the crowd of young Death Eaters was closing in on her, all smiling encouragingly. At last she felt accepted into this strange group. She looked up at Gwynn. He was no longer there.  
  
I apologise for the lack of action in this chapter. If you have any suggestions for the next few chapters then tell me. I would also like to apologise to any Welsh readers. That quote was taken from a particularly offensive friend of mine and was purely there for humour- he didn't mean it and neither do I so please don't flame me!!! 


	4. Flashbacks

A/N I should say here that from now on this story becomes a little graphic in the violence arena. Therefore if you are easily offended please do not read on as I don't want to receive any flames. Please also note that I am not doing this because I am a sadist. The first chapter explains the situation Cho is in, and I would like to point out that I was in a similar situation a few weeks ago and so I am trying to find a way to express the hurt I am feeling. I know it's very OTT but I've always wanted to learn martial arts...

A/N 2 I thught of some songs to go with this fanfic. So if you really want to get in the mood then put on the radio and listen to 'Out of Reach' by Gabrielle, and 'Run for Cover' by Sugababes. Very cheesy I know but they go with it very well.

And now for the disclaimer- Harry, Cho, Draco etc etc blah blah blah belong to JK Rowling. However I take full responibilty for Gwynn the cute Welsh guy. Diz and Luisa are two of my friends and I think they would probably like to belong to themselves (of course that's only a guess).

**Chapter Four: Flashbacks**

The next few days were incredibly taxing for Cho. From seven in the morning to eight at night she trained to serve under Voldemort. Gradually she accquired far more stamina than she had ever had before. She grew to love the evenings when she sat in the common room with her new friends. After the initial coolness they had accepted her as one of themselves without question. Diz and Luisa seemed to have taken it upon themselves to look after her and make sure she wasn't left out of anything. On several occasions the very fact that she was involved seemed to get her into trouble. One particular group of people believed it would be _amusing_ to drop a little undiluted bubotuber puss into Master Avery's goblet one lunchtime. Cho strongly denied that she had come up with the idea in the first place. Why would she have done a thing like that?  
Then, one evening, Cho and Seamus were brought out of training early. As they left everyone cast them curious glances, before Lestrange called their attention back to the Aciditus curse with a deafening bang from the end of his wand.  
"Finnigan and Chang," began the Death Eater who was leading them. I have been asked to prime you both first on who you are about to see. Our Dark Lord has captured a member of your school. One of our spies found him in Hogsmeade. He is a close friend of Potter's." Here Cho's stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. The Death Eater continued, "He will tell us nothing..._ yet_. You will both be required to use force to get information from him. You are both powerful, and I believe will have great influence over him. Do you understand?"  
They both nodded. As they entered the Hall Cho's gaze fell on several things in quick succession. The first was that Voldemort himself was present, watching something with narrowed, calculating eyes. The second was that there were several Death Eaters with their sleeves rolled up, all stadning around something. The third, was that in the centre of the room stood a chair. Bound to the chair slumped a figure with _red hair_.  
As they approached Ron, they could see that he had been badly hurt. He had one black eye already, and his hair was matted with blood. Cho felt nauseous- she couldn't do this. She couldn't hurt someone like this. It isn't him who's hurt me, her soul cried out, not him; don't hurt him.  
But beside her Seamus smiled. "Hello Ron- good holiday?"  
Ron raised his head and turned to see who was addressing him. His eyes widened in horror. "Not you," he stuttered, "You can't have turned."  
Seamus laughed, "No doubt that was what went through Cho's mind when she arrived on our doorstep at the beginning of the holidays."  
Ron's eyes fixed on Cho, and she felt his mind suddenly grasp why she was there. "I'll tell you nothing," he told her firmly.  
"We'll see about that," said Voldemort from his throne, "Won't we Cho?"  
Cho froze. She knew what she had to do. She had to do it to get information about Harry. She had to. She didn't move. She looked at Seamus for help. He gazed back at her, one eyebrow raised, expectant. Then she heard a high voice. In her head. It was her master. _You know it was probably him who made Potter go out with Ginny Weasley, don't you?_ it said. Cho shook her head. "Get out of my thoughts," she muttered to the voice.  
_Why? I am trying to help you understand, Cho Chang. Potter always follows his best friend's advice. Why should he not have this time?_  
Cho paused. It was true. Harry always had followed Ron's advice. She took a step forwards, towards Ron's chair. Ron gazed up at her with a mixture of terror and hatred. Then Cho heard the one thing that would have ever made her hurt someone. Harry's voice.  
_'I'll never forget you Cho'_ he was saying, exactly as he had one evening 2 months ago _'you mean so much to me. I'll wait for you for as long as it takes.'_  
Cho balled her left hand into a fist, then she brought it round, smashing into Ron's face. He cried out. She stumbled back, shocked at her own anger, panting. Voldemort laughed. "Anything to say, young Weasley?"  
Harry was worried. Ron had only gone into Hogsmeade for some more dungbombs. He should have been back by now. He looked across at Hermione, who was studying with a glazed look in her eyes. "Hermione," he said, "Maybe you should have a rest. You've been working for nine hours solid."  
"Nearly finished," she said in a strained chirpy voice. "There," she threw her quill down onto the parchment. Her eyes re-focused and she stared around the Common Room, "Is Ron not back yet?" she asked blankly.  
"No. Reckon we should tell someone?"  
But there was no need. As they made to rise, Professor McGonagall entered, clutching a crying Ginny's hand. As soon as Ginny came in she ran to Harry, who cradled her in his arms, patting her red hair vaguely. "What's happened?" he asked the Professor urgently, "Where's Ron?"  
Professor McGonagall bowed her head, "I don't know how to tell you this Potter." She looked up and held his eyes, "He was taken, by Death Eaters, in Hogsmeade. We couldn't trace them."  
Harry stepped back from shock, and Hermione let out a short, shrill whimper. Then Harry sank back into his chair, and buried his face in his hands. Far away, laughing with her newly found friends, Cho felt no pity for him.  So what do you think? Please review this and tell me! I'd be so grateful! Next chapter- Voldemort develops a cunning plan to trap Harry... 


	5. Warning

I guess I'll put the disclaimer here this time- Harry, Cho, Draco blah blah blah belong to JK Rowling. However I take full responibilty for Gwynn the cute Welsh guy. Diz and Luisa are two of my friends and I think they would probably like to belong to themselves (of course that's only a guess).

A/N This chapter is where the action starts. There'll be lots of fight scenes from now on, and a lot of Cho kicking ass, inspired by Bridget Jone's Diary! So prepare yourself, and please please PLEASE r/r!

  
**Chapter Five: Warning**

"We've found little information from Weasley," Lestrange told the common room, displeased, "Only a few details about Potter's habits. He stood up very well to...force." Here Lestrange smiled a little in Cho's direction. "However, our master has formed a plan to overcome all of Dumbledore's precautions concerning the boy. And it rests on the shoulders of all those who go to Hogwarts School."

The holidays ended in two days, Harry realised. Ron still wasn't back. Dumbledore hadn't expected him back. Hermione and Ginny had been wrecks since he was taken, and George, Fred and Harry were being forced to take the 'strong masculine role'; one which clearly didn't suit their personalities at all. Harry was, frankly, getting tired of acting brave for his girlfriend when he felt like breaking down in tears himself. Even his friends couldn't help him- Dean Thomas was never very good when it came to comforting people, Neville was concentrating on getting through his OWLS, and Seamus Finnigan had gone home for the holidays, as had Cho. His thoughts wandered on...

When Cho got on the Hogwarts Express, two days later, she was accompanied by Seamus, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. Such an unlikely group of friends had rarely been seen in Hogwarts, and they received plenty of odd looks. They had said goodbye to Diz, Luisa and Gwynn before leaving the comforting coldness of Voldemort's mansion. Draco's eagle owl flapped impatiently to get out of its cage. Draco ignored it. They sat in silence for most of the journey, contemplating the next term, which would be their last at Hogwarts. Cho felt an incredible sadness overcome her. It was a sorrow...sorrow for all the tainted memories. Quidditch...Cedric...Ginny...Harry...Peeves...Peeves? She mentally shook herself. She was being stupid now. Soon Hogwarts would be her master's, and the Muggle loving Dumbledore would be...well...dead, she supposed. She shivered.

"What's up Chang? Second thoughts?" Draco Malfoy crooned.

"Not at all," she said, straightening her back indignantly and glaring at him in defiance. Seamus watched her shrewdly from across the compartment.

The train reached Hogwarts, and they slid the doors open. As she stepped down, Cho looked up. She smiled. "See you next wekk then everyone," said Draco, and walked towards the castle. They followed him.

  


Harry had been told to be careful over the next few days. Dumbledore had placed guards at the entrance to Hogwarts, one of them being a large black dog which looked suspiciously like his Godfather. As had happened two years ago, teachers found excuses to walk beside him in the corridors. The DADA teacher, Professor Westwood (the first woman Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in the history of Hogwarts), suddenly swapped from jinxes to teaching counter curses. In Herbology the Year Fives moved on from greenhouse four to greenhouse eight, and very nearly didn't survive the lesson. Charms showed tiny Professor Flitwick giving them surprise tests on the stunning charms. Hagrid freaked the class out by introducing them to a fully grown Acromantula. This served, however, only to remind Harry more of Ron's absense. Finally, the end of the week came, and the class trooped up to Divination. Harry slumped down at a table with Dean and Seamus, and promptly tried to get to sleep. But just as he was dozing off..."Dear!" Seamus prodded him awake. He sat up with a start, "Whuh...What is it?"

"I was just _telling_ the _class_ that your birth date tells us all that your life will be _short_ and tragic."

Seamus grinned and glanced across at Harry. Harry caught his eye and winked at Harry.

The weekend brought no Ron, and no Hogsmeade visit, as all the trips to the village had been cancelled. Instead Harry, Hermione and Ginny sat in the common room and moped. Cho, on the other hand, was enjoying her knowledge and power. She was good at acting, and now she was acting for her life. She studied at her lessons as normal. She did her homework to its usual standard, and she didn't give Seamus or Draco meaningful glances when she passed them in the corridors. Then she slipped up. Harry and Ginny were kissing each other goodbye when she passed them on her way to Charms. She pretended not to notice, yet felt her whole face redden. Almost as if she had eyes in the back of her head, she sensed their eyes following her. Then Ginny giggled- a high pitched, flirtatious, mocking giggle. Cho stopped. She turned. Harry was staring at her, his mouth slightly open. Ginny was smirking at her, one eyebrow raised in a 'so-what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it' expression. Cho knew _exactly_ what she was going to do about it. Walking firmly up to them, she smiled sweetly and slapped Harry hard. Swinging her arm back she slapped him again across the other cheek. He staggered back, amazed at the strength of the stroke. She had never been so strong before. Ginny merely stared at her, all the pride draining out of her face. Cho looked down at her, raised one eyebrow in a 'so-what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it' expression, turned on her heel and walked proudly away. Students who had been watching swiftly got out of her way in an awed silence. Then one Slytherin started clapping.

When she got to her Charms class she finally realised what she had done. She had showed Harry that she was stronger- _much_ stronger- than she ever had been before. _Damn!_ she thought, mentally not only kicking herself but stabbing, electricuting and throwing herself under the Knight Bus. _Damn damn damn_. She looked up, vaguely seeing Professor Flitwick talking about something. She would have to make up for it by acting perfectly for the rest of the time she was staying. Not long now...not long...

When Draco heard about Cho's slip up, he was torn between laughter and anxiety. Only one more day and the plan would be put into action. Let her have her fun with him. He'd be wishing she was still slapping him by the time Voldemort had finished with him.

Cho woke up the next morning, a mixture of excitement and panic weighing on her. Going down to the Great Hall she looked around her, taking in every last detail of the castle she had lived in for the past six years. Entering she briefly glanced round for her other friends. Draco was looking slightly sick, but determined. He caught her eye, and half-smiled at her. So, he had heard about her antics from the day before. Over the other side of the room Seamus was staring at Harry hungrily. She raised her eyes to the ceiling. If anyone saw that look then they would know immediately who one spy was. She coughed loudly as she walked past the Gryffindor table, startling Seamus out of his trance. She gave him a pointed glance, then sat down at the Ravenclaw table. Halfway through a piece of toast, she heard Harry's voice behind her. "Thank you for yesterday," he said.

"Pleasure" she replied, tensing.

"Cho...I know you've never had that much strength in youbefore. You were always a weakling. What happened to you over the holidays eh?" The whole Hall was silent staring at them now. _Think Cho...quickly...think think... THINK!_

"Yeah, I was only a weakling with you because I was stupid enough to go to putty whenever I saw you. Now, however, I've seen the light. You'll be pleased to hear, Harry, that I've been keeping myself busy over the holidays, what with practising my Quidditch. Next time we play I swear I'll knock you off your broom. Then, when you're on the ground, I'll remove all the bones in your arm. Sound pleasant?"

"Hehe, no Cho," Harry persisted above the laughing of the Slytherin table, "You could _never_ hurt someone like that when I knew you before."

"Neither could you, when I first knew you," she whispered viciously through gritted teeth, "But you underestimate me, Harry. You always have," Then to the whole school she laughed and said, "I can even prove I've never been so weak I couldn't slap someone- Malfoy will testify, won't you Draco?"

Over in the Slytherin table Malfoy started at his name, then, realising what Cho was asking him to do he called, "Had a black eye for months after that Quidditch match. Watch out Potter- she's finally grown some sense and she's after you- are you scared?"

The students laughed, but Harry didn't. Neither did Dumbledore. There was far too much threat in Cho's and Draco's words to be overlooked. He would call them to his office during lessons. Meanwhile Harry returned to the Gryffindor table, scowling over his shoulder at Cho and Malfoy. "Well, I'm done," said Seamus, getting up, "Don't let them bother you Harry." And with that he left the Great Hall, and strolled to Potions.

Draco rose and prowled out of the Hall, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle. It would be the last time they ever entered the Great Hall again.

Cho looked at her watch and saw Draco leaving out of the corner of her eye. She rose, smiled at her Ravenclaw friends, and headed in completely the wrong direction for Transfiguration. The plan had begun.

  


So what do you think? Please tell me! I've really appreciated the feedback I've got so far- even thought it hasn't been much!

Scherzade- I have two endings at the moment; one of them's sad and the other's happy. I'm debating whether it should get more tragic or not!


	6. Capture

And, yes you guessed it- the disclaimer- Harry, Cho, Draco blah blah blah belong to JK Rowling. However I take full responibilty for Gwynn the cute Welsh guy. Diz and Luisa are two of my friends and I think they would probably like to belong to themselves (of course that's only a guess).

A/N AHA! I hear you say, AHA AHA! Yes indeed it is the climatic fight scene. From here on the story gets even better- and then it ends. Well isn't that nice.

  
**Chapter Six: Capture**

Harry and Hermione entered Potions with drooping hearts. What was Potions without Ron to cheer them up? "Oh well," muttered Harry, "At least it's only a single lesson." They both groaned, imagining trying to survive Double Potions with Professor Snape and Malfoy, without Ron. "You're late" barked Snape as they sat down ten minutes before the bell rang, "Ten points from Gryffindor."

Across the table from them, Seamus waited for the sign. _It wouldn't be obvious_ Lestrange had said, _Just enough for you to realise it was time._ Seamus glanced round the room. _Give me the fucking sign_ he thought, _Let's get this over with._ Then he heard a small clink in font of him. He looked down. On his desk lay a small golden dragon, about two inches across. It peered up at him and breathed tiny ruby flames. He immediately understood. It was a portkey. Grabbing the dragon, and stuffing it in his pocket, he stood up suddenly. Snape turned round from writing notes on the board. "Is there a problem, Finnigan? If you don't sit down I will take great pleasure in deducting a further 10 points from Gryffindor."

"You can take away all the points Gryffindor's ever had for all I care you treacherous slimeball," Seamus spat, taking his wand from off the desk, "This classroom is going to have to undergo some severe re-decorating. But that will be done _after_ my master has taken over at Hogwarts, I suppose."

Cho carried her bag, labouring a little, up to the tallest tower. In her bag she had not only packed her broom, magically shrunk (unfrotunately this didn't affect its weight), but also several potions which she might need later on in the plan. As she came out into the fresh air, she took a deep breath, and took out her wand. "Showtime, Harry," she said.

Snape had taken out his wand immediately and tried to stun Seamus. Seamus had been ready. Uttering a body binding curse on Snape while dodging those aimed at himself, he threw himself under the desk and grabbed onto Harry's legs. Using them to help him get up, he shielded himself from Hermione's jinx, then dealt her a stunning blow on the head. She crumpled to the floor. Harry cried out and leapt down beside her. Seamus stood over the two figures. "Sorry, Harry, old friend." he crooned. Then before Harry could reply, Seamus had stunned him.

Blasting his way out of the Potions room was not so easy for Seamus, especially when he had Harry floating behind him. But he managed it, and was joined by Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle at the top of the stairs. "We've got rid of everyone else around this area. What took you so long?" asked Malfoy. "Piss off," panted Seamus. They headed towards the door, and were met by a snarling black dog. "Shit the guards," shouted Malfoy, aiming a curse at the dog. The first one ricoched off a wall and made an interesting shape of crater in the stone floor. The second hit the black dog full on, and with a small whimper, it keeled over. "What did you do?" asked Seamus as they stepped over Sirius, "Kill it?"

"Nah just put it into a deep sleep"

"Shame"

They left the castle and ran out into the grounds. Spread from the lake to the Forbidden Forest, were over 20 Ministry Officials. "Oh f*ck" said Seamus quietly. It was at this point that Harry chose to wake up. He sat up in mid air and looked around. When he remembered what had happened he grabbed his wand and stood up. "Game's over Malfoy, Seamus," he said, aiming his wand at them both.

"Oh I don't think so," came a voice from behind him. He swung round to face Cho, her broom in her hand. "In fact," she said, "It's only just begun." Then she threw a punch at him and he fell back unconscious.

"Run!" She shouted to Seamus and Draco, "Take Harry, and I'll deal with this lot." They didn't need telling twice.

Cho looked around her. Ministry Officials were closing in on her from all sides. She grinned at them all, then aimed her wand at the one nearest from her, _Imperio_ she said quietly. Immediately he stopped, a glazed look covering his face. He turned to the man next to him, raised his wand, and said in a faraway voice, "Avada Kedavra!" A flash of green light momentarily blinded all present, then cleared. They all saw the first man turn his wand and kill himself. Cho looked back at them all. "Clever huh?"

Then she somersaulted over the top of one and stabbed him in the back with one end of her wand. With the other end she stunned a cloaked woman who was running towards her. Spinning round she found herself staring into the face of a man with long sideburns. She held him up by the throat and, pointing her wand at his chest, she killed him too. Turning back she found herself surrounded by people. They were closing in on her, all muttering complicated jinxes under their breath. _Oh dear_. "Well it's been really nice meeting you all, but I think I might just be leaving now."

Just as bright flashed of light all collided at the place where she had been standing she leapt over their head and vanished into the trees of the Forbidden Forest.

Opinions please! Last chapter will be up as soon as I write it (obviously), so please please please review and you will be rewarded in heaven.


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